Treaty Approval Long Past Due

February 22, 1986

WITH THE SENATE`S ratification of the Genocide Treaty, a 36-year-old embarrassment ends for the United States.

Proxmire That is how long the Senate refused to adopt the treaty, which calls for each signatory nation to pass legislation outlawing genocide -- the deliberate and systematic destruction of a national, ethnic or religious group. Conservative opponents, who argued ratification would threaten the sovereignty of the United States, failed in the end to win one of the longest running legislative debates in the nation`s history.

Although flawed by several provisos restricting U.S. adherence to the international convention, the treaty brings the United States into the fold of 96 other nations that already have embraced the worthy notion that murder on a grand scale should be outlawed like individual murder. The treaty was adopted by an 83-11 vote.

If an individual victor has to be named, it is Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wis., who has championed the measure for nearly two decades.

On. Jan. 11, 1967, Proxmire rose on the Senate floor to urge approval of the treaty signed by President Truman in 1948. And he promised to make a similar speech every day until the Senate finally ratified the pact.

He kept his promise, speaking during every single full Senate session since then. That`s about 3,000 speeches, by Proxmire`s count.

Proxmire`s victory, however, is not complete. He says the treaty ``is seriously damaged`` by a proviso stipulating that the U.S. government must give its prior consent before a charge of genocide can be lodged against the United States and heard before the World Court.

No other signatory nation has required such language.

Still, the United States has made a statement that it condemns genocide and will join with other nations to prevent and punish genocide. Why was that so hard to say?